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Titanic Menu Auction Fetches $81,000

The British liner Titanic sails out of Southampton, England, at the start of its doomed voyage on April 10, 1912. (AP Photo)
The British liner Titanic sails out of Southampton, England, at the start of its doomed voyage on April 10, 1912. (AP Photo)
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Titanic Menu Auction Fetches $81,000

The British liner Titanic sails out of Southampton, England, at the start of its doomed voyage on April 10, 1912. (AP Photo)
The British liner Titanic sails out of Southampton, England, at the start of its doomed voyage on April 10, 1912. (AP Photo)

More than 111 years after the sinking of the Titanic, memorabilia from the luxury liner were auctioned off for tens of thousands of pounds on Saturday, including a first-class menu.

According to the German News Agency (dpa), the menu is said to be the only surviving menu from April 11, 1912. It shows signs of water damage and features oysters, lamb and mallard duck.

The menu was auctioned at the Henry Aldridge & Son auction house. An anonymous bidder paid £66,000 (US$81,000) for the artefact.

A first-class blanket, which was presumably carried by a survivor in the lifeboat sold for £76,000.

The Titanic set sail to New York from Southampton in the south of England on April 10, 1912 with more than 2,200 people on board.

After just a few days, the luxury liner, which was considered unsinkable, struck an iceberg – and sank, killing more than 1,500 people.

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Japan’s Beloved Panda Couple Return Home after Heartfelt Farewell

19-year-old giant panda Shin Shin is seen on the last public viewing day for the pandas Shin Shin and Ri Ri (not pictured) before they return to China to be treated for high blood pressure, at the Ueno Zoological Garden in Tokyo, Japan September 28, 2024. (Reuters)
19-year-old giant panda Shin Shin is seen on the last public viewing day for the pandas Shin Shin and Ri Ri (not pictured) before they return to China to be treated for high blood pressure, at the Ueno Zoological Garden in Tokyo, Japan September 28, 2024. (Reuters)
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Japan’s Beloved Panda Couple Return Home after Heartfelt Farewell

19-year-old giant panda Shin Shin is seen on the last public viewing day for the pandas Shin Shin and Ri Ri (not pictured) before they return to China to be treated for high blood pressure, at the Ueno Zoological Garden in Tokyo, Japan September 28, 2024. (Reuters)
19-year-old giant panda Shin Shin is seen on the last public viewing day for the pandas Shin Shin and Ri Ri (not pictured) before they return to China to be treated for high blood pressure, at the Ueno Zoological Garden in Tokyo, Japan September 28, 2024. (Reuters)

Japan's beloved elderly giant pandas Shin Shin and Ri Ri were safely returned to China on Sunday, Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Garden reported on its website.

The two pandas arrived at the Ueno zoo in 2011, bringing a little lightness to the country just months after a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11 of that year, and continued to draw fans of all ages over the years.

When it was announced a month ago that the elderly pandas would soon be returned to China to be treated for high blood pressure, visitors flocked to see the pair before they left.

Hiyori Sakurai, an artist in her 30s, said she has been visiting the zoo every Sunday and even some weekdays when she could take time off from work.

"Whenever I go through a hard time, I would go see Ri Ri and Shin Shin, and they always cheered me up," she said.

Etsuko Tokuda, a self-employed woman in her 60s, has been going to the zoo almost everyday since the return announcement.

"Each day was important to me. I wanted to see them even if they were sleeping."

Native to China, pandas have through the years become "envoys of friendship" and China's offer of pandas to other countries has been dubbed panda diplomacy.

Saturday was the last chance to see Shin Shin and Ri Ri at the Ueno zoo, but their twins, born in June 2021, will remain.

While sad to see the panda couple go, retiree Harumi Iteguchi took some comfort.

"Knowing that Ri Ri and Shin Shin will go back together as a couple to their home country cheered me up a bit."